Three little stories - Mittelschulvorbereitung Englisch

Three little stories
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T253
ARTISTS
Three artists were boasting about their work, each trying to be better than the other.
"Some time ago," said the first, "I painted a piece of wood in imitation of marble. I did it so well that
when it was thrown into the water it sank immediately to the bottom."
"Why, that's nothing," said the second, "last winter I painted a picture of a snowy landscape, and
yesterday when I hung a thermometer next to it, it at once fell from twenty degrees above to twenty
degrees below zero."
"Not worth speaking of!" said the third. "That picture I painted of the famous millionaire was so lifelike
that it had to be shaved regularly twice a week."
boast: prahlen
each: jeder
paint: malen
imitation: Nachahmung
marble: Marmor
bottom: Grund
why: Ei!
landscape: Landschaft
at once: sofort
above: über
below: unter
worth: wert sein
lifelike: lebensecht
shave: rasieren
twice: zweimal
A LESSON FOR THE TEACHER
A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. "If I stand on my head,"
he told his class, "the blood runs down into my head, doesn't it?" Yes, sir," the class
replied. "Then," said the teacher, "why doesn't the blood run into my feet when I stand
on my feet?" "Please, sir, it's because your feet aren't empty."
circulation of the blood: Blutzirkulation
reply: antworten
empty: leer
WHY SHOULD HE?
It was a very hot day, and the captain had been lecturing his men on their duties as soldiers. When he had
finished, he wanted to see how much they remembered of what he had said, so he asked one of them,
"Private Smith, tell me now, why should a soldier be ready to die for his country?" Private Smith, who
had been more than half asleep during the lecture, scratched his head for some time, not knowing what to
reply. Then at last a happy smile crossed his face, and he answered, "You're quite right, captain, why
should he?"
captain: Hauptmann
lecture: Vortrag halten
duty: Pflicht
private: Gefreiter
ready: bereit
die: sterben
scratch: kratzen
reply: antworten
quite right: ganz recht
Translate:
1. Das Holzstück sank auf den Grund. ... The piece of wood sank to the bottom. ..........................................
2. Das Thermometer fiel auf zwanzig Grad unter Null. .......................................................................................
3. Wenn ich auf meinem Kopf stehe, läuft das Blut in meinen Kopf hinunter. ....................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................
4. Sein Kopf ist nicht leer. ...................................................................................................................................
5. Was sind deine Pflichten? ..............................................................................................................................
6. Warum sollten Sie bereit sein? .......................................................................................................................
7. Wir wussten nicht, was antworten. ..................................................................................................................
8. Du hast ganz recht. ........................................................................................................................................
Make the sentences negative:
The artists were boasting. ... The artists weren’t boasting. ......................................................................................
I painted a picture. ......................................................................................................................................................
The picture was very lifelike. ......................................................................................................................................
The teacher was giving a lesson.. ...............................................................................................................................
I stand on my head. .....................................................................................................................................................
It’s my duty. ................................................................................................................................................................
Why should he answer. .............................................................................................................................................. .
It was a very hot day. ..................................................................................................................................................